"I don't understand what is so amusing. You are supposed to be an officer of the law," Sheldon shouted while holding the filthy customer service phone several inches from his face.

"This is the Las Vegas Police Department, kid," the officer laughed. "We deal with real problems. Not people who claim they are locked in a mega mart."

"But we are locked in a mega mart!" Sheldon yelped.

"Then you're not in immediate danger. I'm sorry, but we can't help you. The store will open again in nine hours," the officer hung up the phone.

"Nine hours? Good lord!" Sheldon cried as he placed the phone back on its base.

"Still no reception?" Amy asked.

Sheldon looked at his cell phone again. "No," he said, "It's like we're locked in a tomb."

"Okay, well we're two smart adults. We should be able to think of a way out of this," Amy said calmly.

"You may be smart. I'm a genius."

"Okay, Sherlock. What's your plan?"

"Now hold on," Sheldon whined, "I never said I was a genius at department store engineering. I didn't get my degrees from an online trade school like Wolowitz."

"Then shut up," Amy said quickly.

"Fine."

"Maybe we can get a signal if we move closer to the doors."

"Oh, sure. That sounds like a fantastic plan," Sheldon said sarcastically.

"Doesn't matter. You forfeited your right to make decisions. Give me your phone."

Sheldon pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it to Amy reluctantly. Amy hated the very feel of the device in her hand, knowing that Emily's text message was still nestled deep inside.

"It's almost dead." Amy walked to the doors and held the phone as close to the glass as possible.

Nothing.

"I think we might be stuck here until morning," Amy sighed.

Sheldon's face began to twitch.

"We could sleep on the couches in the furniture display," Amy suggested.

"Where hundreds of sweaty strangers have sat? I think not," Sheldon replied firmly.

"We can just get some new sheets in the bedding department."

"Amy, I'm surprised at you," Sheldon said as Amy squinted in the emergency lights to find the right aisle.

"What?"

"That's stealing."

"It's not stealing if we pay for them tomorrow."

"Amy, when we open that package, it is stealing. There has been no exchange of currency."

Amy took a crisp twenty dollar bill from her purse and set it on top of the cash register in the checkout lane. "There. Currency exchanged. Put on the pajamas."

"Fine," Sheldon huffed, "But you over-paid."

"How's the couch?" Amy asked as she and Sheldon tried to sleep in the furniture display.

"Lumpy," Sheldon replied.

"At least you got the long couch. I feel like I'm trapped in a womb over here," Amy said while trying to get comfortable on the small couch.

"This is ridiculous. We both know we're never going to fall asleep," Sheldon said and sat up.

"I don't know how you could ever fall asleep," Amy mumbled.

"What do you mean by that?" Sheldon sat up straight. "I usually sleep very well."

"I'm just saying that from a neurobiological standpoint, guilt is an incredibly powerful stimulant. Most people have trouble sleeping under its watch."

"Why on earth would I be feeling guilty? I've done nothing wrong."

Amy sat up on her couch to see his face more clearly. He was serious.

"Wow. Well, I take that back. You should sleep like a baby." She grabbed her purse and began to walk away from Sheldon. Where she was going, she didn't know. Just away.

"Wait!" Sheldon called, "Is there something wrong, Amy? You've been acting strange ever since we got to Las Vegas. You didn't drink the water did you?"

"No, Sheldon." She continued walking.

"Then what's the problem?"

Amy turned and tried to harness her emotions which seemed to be taking on a life of their own. So much anger and jealousy and hurt racing through her veins. She breathed in and out, just the way she always had but it felt pointless now. She had already died on the inside.

"I know that you kissed Emily." Amy paused while her throat tightened. "I know that you told all of Caltech that we are having sex." Her voice began to crack. "And I know that neither have much to do with me." She turned and continued to walk. "And that, Sheldon, is the problem."

AMY, Sheldon said through the intercom. He'd searched the entire store for her with no success. PLEASE TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE.

He stood near the cash register in the checkout lane, eyeing the twenty dollar bill she had placed there earlier. PLEASE, AMY. I NEED TO TALK TO YOU.

But the store was silent aside from the hum of the florescent safety lights. Sheldon wondered how Amy knew about the kiss, but deep inside he already knew. He watched her read it in the car. He'd let her, hoping that it would make it easier in the end. That if she had heard it from him directly, she'd find it unforgivable. But that didn't matter now.

It was unforgivable.

He fiddled with his pajamas. They felt funny, not like his Saturday night pajamas. But they were blue. Amy always liked blue.

He thought of her smile, the way her eyes would ignite when she was happy.

He hadn't seen that in a long time.

I DON'T KNOW IF I EVER TOLD YOU THIS, AND I'M NOT SURE THAT IT MAKES MUCH DIFFERENCE NOW, BUT WHEN I FIRST MET YOU, I FELT INCREDIBLY THREATENED.

YOU WERE SO DIRECT AND FORTHCOMING. I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT JUST RUN ME OVER IF YOU WERE GIVEN THE CHANCE. AND YOU WERE SMART.

I THINK I HAD GROWN COMPLACENT OVER THE YEARS, HAVING BEEN FRIENDS WITH THE LIKES OF HOWARD AND RAJ.

AND THEN YOU CAME ALONG.

I'VE HEARD OF PEOPLE CLAIMING TO BE SWEPT OFF THEIR FEET WHEN THEY FELL IN LOVE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT FEELS LIKE, OR IF IT EVEN EXISTS. BUT I DO KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE KNOCKED OFF MY FEET. KNOCKED SO FAR THAT I WAS RATTLED.

YOU DID THAT TO ME. YOU CHALLENGED ME IN A WAY THAT NO ONE EVER HAS. AND I'M RELUCTANT TO SAY THAT THERE ARE TIMES WHEN YOU BEAT ME AT THAT CHALLENGE.

AND THAT'S WHAT YOU DO FOR ME. YOU MAKE ME BETTER. YOU PUSH AND YOU PUSH, AND EVEN WHEN I RUN, YOU PULL ME BACK. YOU MAKE ME FACE MYSELF.

AND AMY FARRAH FOWLER—YOU SCARE THE BEJEESUS OUT OF ME.

WHEN I'M WITH YOU, THERE IS A PART OF ME THAT CAN'T BE CONTROLLED. A PART OF ME THAT HAS BEEN DORMANT UNTIL NOW. A PART OF ME THAT I'M TERRIFIED TO UNLEASH.

Amy listened from behind a stack of magazines where she had been secretly wishing to be as beautiful as all of the celebrities. Maybe Sheldon would notice her then.

PLEASE COME OUT, AMY. Sheldon looked down at his hand that was wrapped in the sleeve of his pajama top as he held the stained phone piece. AND BRING NEW PAJAMAS.

Amy appeared in the main aisle way and Sheldon was relieved. She didn't look happy, but at least they were making progress.

"Finally," Sheldon said. "It doesn't even take Leonard that long to stop pouting. And you know how bad he can get."

Amy rolled her eyes and immediately turned to walk in the other direction.

"Okay, okay, okay. That was out of line," Sheldon said sweetly.

Amy smiled slightly and began to walk towards him again.

"You took as long as Leonard does."

"Sheldon…" Amy glared.

"I'm sorry. Shall we try the couches again? I think I could get used to them."

"Okay."

They walked together is socked feet, but the silence was peaceful. There was a certain sweetness to their legs striding in unison.

They walked slowly. Everything was free and open in the aisle way. Nothing stood in their way, just the cool air of an abandoned department store sweeping over their faces. Amy could smell a faint hint of his aftershave.

But their gentle stroll was cut short. They reached the couches and went their separate ways. Amy to hers. Sheldon to his.

And there they sat. Unsure of what to say or do, hoping for some magical solution that allowed them to bypass this awful discomfort.

"Maybe you could sit over here with me," Sheldon said quietly, "Since your couch is so small."

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea."

"Why not?" Sheldon felt insulted.

"Because I'm still mad at you, Sheldon. You think that making a little speech over the intercom is enough to solve all of our problems?"

"Well, that was the plan."

"It didn't work." Amy turned her head away in disgust.

Sheldon adjusted he cushions on the couch to help him sit straight while he inspected his socks for dirt. Still clean.

"I didn't," Sheldon whispered so quietly that Amy could barely hear him.

"You didn't what?"

Sheldon paused and swallowed to relieve the tightness in his throat. "I didn't, in fact, kiss Emily. She kissed me."

Amy had so many questions racing through her mind. Why did she kiss you? Why did you even allow yourself to be put in that position? Did you push her away? How long did it last? What did she say? What did she do to earn such an intimate moment with you?

But Amy knew she could only ask one question before falling apart emotionally. One question that made all the others irrelevant. One question that decided the fate of their entire future.

"Did you enjoy it?" she whispered.

Sheldon waited for his breaths to slow before answering. "On the contrary," he said calmly, "I found the whole ordeal quite uncomfortable."

"Because of the germs?"

"That played a prominent role in the discomfort, yes."

"I don't understand you, Sheldon." Amy started to get very upset. She stood up and used all her might to refrain from yelling at him. "Another woman kisses you and all that you found wrong with it were the germs? You are a piece of work!"

Sheldon stood up quickly and grabbed Amy by the arms. "Would you please listen? This is very hard for me."

Amy's posture softened.

"Yes, the germs made me very uncomfortable. But that's not the reason I didn't enjoy her kiss."

Amy watched him intently, absorbing each word that seeped from his lips, like nectar.

"I didn't enjoy it because it wasn't—you."

Amy tried to smile, but she couldn't control her emotions anymore. "What am I supposed to do with that, Sheldon? Huh?" She pulled away from his arms.

"We are so screwed up," Amy started to pace in front of her couch. "I follow you around like a love-sick puppy, hoping that one day you'll reciprocate my feelings, but you never do. You never even notice me most of the time. And then you tell everyone that we're having sex?!"

Amy's voice grew louder. "Don't you see how wrong that is? Don't you care at all about my well-being? About my reputation? Or are you so focused on yourself that you can't even be bothered with anyone else?"

She sat down and held her face in her hands. "Why can't we just be normal?" she whispered behind her hands. "Why can't we hug and kiss one another? Why can't we talk and laugh and show one another that we truly care?"

Sheldon never thought about how much his actions affected Amy. Actually, he never really thought about how his actions affected anyone.

But Amy was hurt. Hurt because of something he did, and he couldn't live with that.

He walked to her couch and sat close to her.

"Amy," he said gently while brushing her hair aside. "Amy, look at me."

She wiped the tears from her face and looked at him through bloodshot eyes. He watched her face and all the pain it displayed. For the first time he could recognize the emotion. He could recognize her pain, and it killed him inside.

"Amy, I am sorry." He continued to watch her eyes. "I'm sorry for all of it."

She began to regain some color to her face.

"And you know how hard it is for me to say that."

She smiled slightly.

"This may be too little too late, but it's something that you need to hear. And it's something I need to say."

Amy braced herself for what he was about to say as Sheldon leaned closer to her.

"I desire you, Amy," he whispered. "I always have, but I have trouble expressing it. I told people that we were partaking in sexual intercourse because in some bizarre way, it made me feel like we were. It made me feel like we had that connection. And I know that's incredibly selfish, and that is what I apologize for. I didn't think about how it would affect you, and for that I'm sorry."

"Sheldon, if you like the idea of us being intimate, why not simply be intimate with me? Why make up such lavish stories?"

"Because I can't." Sheldon hung his head slightly.

"You can't be intimate? Why?"

"Because I can't get past the touching, and I can't get past the fear of failing."

Suddenly it all made sense to Amy.

"And there's nothing I want more than to please you, but I can't do it. Not yet." He looked at her and blinked to hold back the tears. "Maybe someday."

Amy placed her hand on top of his and for a while they simply breathed together, making themselves one. Until Sheldon broke the silence.

"Come on," he said as he grabbed her hand and helped her to her feet.

"Where are we going?"

But Sheldon didn't answer. He looked straight ahead while leading her with a grip that said he would never let go.

The aisles began to pass.

Aisle 6.

Aisle 7.

Aisle 8.

Sheldon glanced at Amy and smiled, but the smile was something that Amy had never seen. It was sweet and kind, but there was something in it that made her knees go weak.

Aisle 9.

Aisle 10.

Aisle 11.

Sheldon began to slow down when they reached the bed sheets.

"Oh, Sheldon," Amy sighed. "You don't need more sheets. The ones on the couch are still perfectly fine."

"Shhhh," Sheldon replied immediately as they turned down Aisle 12.

And that's when Amy saw it—the bed display.

Sheldon led her through the sizes, passing the twin and queen sizes.

They continued to walk until Sheldon found what he was looking for, the king size bed.

The bed was white—white sheets, white pillows, white comforter. Sheldon pulled Amy close to the side and looked at her intently. She could feel the heat coming from his chest.

"I don't need to touch you to be intimate with you," he whispered while gently lifting her onto the bed.

Amy could feel her heart begin to race and her palms begin to sweat. Was this really happening?

She set her purse aside and watched Sheldon remove his pajama top. His white undershirt clung to his slender frame.

He sat next to Amy while his eyes followed the curves of her body, tracing her thighs and hips in the process.

"Lie down," he whispered in Amy's ear.

Her chest began to heave and she slowly let herself fall onto the bed. She could feel Sheldon straddle her hips and crawl toward her face, like a tiger ready to attack.

He held himself mere inches from her chest while watching her lips. And now Amy knew what she was seeing. Something she never thought she would see in his eyes.

Lust.

His breath clouded her lips and flowed in ripples onto her neck. He leaned in closer, his lips nearly touching hers.

"I kiss you—on the lips," he whispered.

Amy moaned, her body quivering beneath him.

"My tongue touches yours," he said and released a heavy breath across her cheek as he moved towards her neck.

Such soft white skin, just waiting for him. He let the tip of his nose trace the outline of her jaw before arriving at his destination.

His hot, sweet release of air swept across her collar bone, and she could feel his shirt brush against hers.

"I kiss your neck gently moving towards your shoulder." The stubble on his face brushed along her skin.

"And lick your skin as go."

Amy wanted so badly to touch him, to touch every inch of his body, to feel him close to her. Her hands clenched tightly to the comforter.

Sheldon unbuttoned the top button of her blouse and pushed the fabric aside to reveal the freckles beneath her collar bone. She heard him slowly inhale her scent.

Sheldon wanted this to be touchless sex, but Amy couldn't help herself.

She brought her hands to his waist and began to slide them under his t-shirt. The warmth of his skin was intoxicating.

His muscles moved under her hands and she moaned again. Her nails began to press into the small of his back as she gently pushed his hips down onto hers.

Sheldon relaxed, allowing his weight to rest upon her with his face still buried in the curve of her neck.

Amy slid her hands up his back, pulling his shirt to his shoulders.

There was a perfect stillness as Amy waited to see if Sheldon would reciprocate. She could feel his heart pounding.

He sat up. Face flushed. Eyes bright.

And removed his shirt.

Amy's body began to tremble at the sight of his chest and stomach. He was thin but defined and she could feel a warm sensation beginning to grow between her legs.

She reached up to Sheldon's face and slowly pulled him close to her, longing for his lips against hers.

His face crept closer while he parted his lips.

But as he leaned closer, Amy could feel his hands moving down her arms and before she knew it, he had her hands pinned against the bed.

"I can't concentrate if you touch me," he whispered.

Amy checked herself, trying desperately to keep her hands to herself, but there was something strangely erotic about his forcefulness. The warmth between her legs continued to grow.

Sheldon had a firm grip on her wrists as he moved towards her breasts.

"I kiss your breasts, dragging my lower lip along their form," he said between breaths.

Amy arched her back to get closer to him, but he pressed her arms firmly into the bed to keep her at bay.

"Let me do this," he whispered.

Amy's breasts thrust up and down as she breathed heavily. She could feel her body racing towards orgasm. Gerard's got nothing on this.

Sheldon released his grip on her wrists as he traveled down her body, whispering sweet nothings as he moved.

But Amy could sense an apprehension in the air. Sheldon reached her navel and froze. He was beginning to panic.

"Are you okay?" Amy asked.

"I've never really thought about this. Where to go from here, I mean."

"There is no right or wrong way to do this, Sheldon. And believe me-everything you've done as of now has been so right," Amy exhaled.

"Whoo."

Sheldon took a deep breath to calm his nerves and for the first time, he was no longer afraid of failure.

"I run my fingers across the soft skin of your thigh." A fire began to travel through his body.

"Sweeping the tips closer and closer to your…" Sheldon couldn't bring himself to say the word. "Area."

Amy smiled. There was something endearing about his discretion, but her body continued to speed ahead.

"Oh, god!" Amy cried as Sheldon inched her skirt higher.

He brought his face close to her thighs and kissed her stockings lightly.

"I don't think I can last much longer, Sheldon," Amy whispered.

He continued as he hadn't heard a word she said and brought his mouth close to her swollen bud, pausing to heighten her pleasure.

He exhaled.

"Oh, my god!" Amy cried as her body raced to the most powerful orgasms she had ever experienced. Her body was tense while her fists gripped the blankets with knuckles gone white.

Sheldon jumped up in nervous apprehension. He'd never witnessed a woman orgasm before.

Fascinating.

Her body began to relax and Sheldon knew that it was over. He slipped his t-shirt on and lay next to Amy, whose mind still seemed miles away.

"Was that satisfactory," he asked in genuine concern.

Amy's glassy eyes looked at him. "Gerard has lived his last day," she said in a daze.

"What?"

"Nothing," Amy sighed with a smile.

This chapter was a little more challenging to write, but I hope you liked it. Read, review, enjoy. Chapter 11 is in the works.